Thursday, June 26, 2025

WELCOME TO CRISPYCAT RECORDINGS
We issue the solo and collaborative work of musician, podcaster and abstract artist
DAVID REILLY

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This is the Cloudland Blue Diary - to go to another section of the site, click on an icon
                         

DIARY

The diary is up to date, with daily entries from Sunday 5 March 2005 through to Tuesday 24 June 2025...
 (Scroll down for the latest entries)

Between those dates, 146 days are "picture only", across 5 periods in 3 of the, now, 21 years:-

2016 (3 Days): 15-17 October
2022 (85 Days): 18 April - 10 May (23); 6 July - 5 September (62)
2023 (58 Days): 21 September - 15 October (25); 18 October - 19 November (33)

It is always the intention to update "picture only" days with the relevant text but doing so is, of course, subject to opportunity (and, indeed, memory!)

CRISPYCAT RECORDINGS ON BANDCAMP
To go to the Bandcamp discographies of these Crispycat related artists, click on an icon.

                    

Crispycat Recordings released the first 25 Cloudland Blue Quartet albums (recorded between 1996 and 2012) to Bandcamp in 2013.

A further 8 LPs were released between 2013 and 2019.

Then, with the advent of lockdown, David spent much more time on new Cloudland Blue Quartet works, with the result that, since May 2020, new music has been released almost every month, with almost 80 further new releases having been issued in the last five years.

The current 14 strong pipeline (see below) will take matters to April 2026, pushing the total Cloudland Blue Quartet releases available on Bandcamp to well beyond 100.

Meanwhile, retrospective releases by David's groups Creek, Crazy Wisdom and Capital Models have also been being issued by Crispycat Recordings and these are set to continue, with around 50 planned over the next 18 months or so...

In 2025, Crazy Wisdom and Capital Models have also released new recordings...

LATEST CBQ RELEASE



As always from Crispycat Recordings, entirely Free to Stream or Name Your Price (including zero) to Download

Following on from "Live Suite 2023/24" and "Live Suite 2024/25" (both still available on Bandcamp), "Live Suite 2025/26" was created specifically to be played live at CBQ's next three soundscape performances, with appearances planned in Edinburgh on 21 June 2024 (the day after the LP's release), Glasgow on 31 August 2024 and Whitby on 19 September 2024 and, as the title suggests, may be further performed into 2026.

The suite is a 40 minute sound collage of elements of pieces taken from 20 different Cloudland Blue Quartet records, issued (or to be issued) by Crispycat Recordings from 2024 to 2026. The work also sources items from CBQ's library of Field Recordings and Short Wave Radio Broadcasts. In all, over 70 elements feature in the 40 minute performance.

To enjoy the suite gaplessly, please download the WAVs

The download bundle contains 145 minutes of bonuses, comprising the gapless version of the suite, plus 21 stand alone edits of the pieces used in the initial version, which was subsequently added to to produce the final version presented as this LP.

CURRENT CBQ RELEASE SCHEDULE

 

Friday 4 July 2025Cloudland Blue Quartet - Variations on Fripp & Eno's "No Pussyfooting" (Soundscape Variations LP)
Friday 1 August 2025Cloudland Blue Quartet - Gould (Soundscape Composers Series LP)
Friday 5 September 2025Cloudland Blue Quartet Variations on Fripp & Eno's "Evening Star" (Soundscape Variations LP)
Friday 3 October 2025: Cloudland Blue Quartet & Robert Scott Thompson - Forest Ascent (Collaborative Soundscape LP)

   

Friday 7 November 2025Cloudland Blue Quartet - Like a Sunday (Soundscape Ambient LP)
Friday 5 December 2025: Cloudland Blue Quartet - Disquietmusik IX (Soundscape Guitar Based LP)
Wednesday 24 December 2025: Cloudland Blue Quartet - Twentytwentyfive: The Originals (Compilation of 2025 Releases)
Wednesday 31 December 2025: Cloudland Blue Quartet - Twentytwentyfive (Compilation of Rarities recorded throughout 2025)

   

Friday 6 February 2026: Cloudland Blue Quartet - Shostakovich (Soundscape Composers Series LP)
Friday 3 April 2026Cloudland Blue Quartet - Dissolution VI (Soundscape Piano Based LP)
Saturday 11 April 2026 (Record Store Day)Cloudland Blue Quartet - GLAM! FOUR (RSD Special: Covers LP)

(All artwork, releases and release dates subject to change)

UPCOMING LIVE PERFORMANCES

            

Capital Models - Saturday 9 August 2025, 2pm
Fopp, Shandwick Place, Edinburgh, EH2 4RT
Repertoire: The Capital Models LP "Minimal" A laid back set of Bowie/Roxy/Eno/Velvets covers

Capital Models - Saturday 16 August 2025, 7pm
Purple Orange Arts Venue, 7B Bathgate Union Road, Bathgate, EH48 1NS
Repertoire: The Capital Models LP "TWENTYFIVE FORTYFIVE" Songs from Capital Models Original Canon 1979/80

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Sunday 31 August 2025, 7pm
Williamwood Parish Church – 4 Vardar Avenue, Clarkston, G76 7QP
Repertoire: Soundscape set - Brand New "Live Suite 2025/26"

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Friday 19 September 2025, 7:30pm
Wavelength, Flowergate Hall, Whitby, YO21 2QP
Repertoire: Soundscape set - Brand New "Live Suite 2025/26"

Performances include solo appearances, as Cloudland Blue Quartet, presenting sets of either songs or soundscapes, and group performances, with the current line up of David's 1980 new wave band, Capital Models 

At present there are no plans for his electronic improvisational quartet, Creek, to play live but a gig by vocal/electronic trio, Crazy Wisdom, is mooted for later in 2025...

PODCASTS
David produces a weekly podcast on Mixcloud, reflecting his esoteric taste in music and encouraging listeners to broaden their musical horizons.  

Since 2014, over 720 editions of the "Cloudland Blue Eclectic Selection" have been recorded.  Unfortunately, only the most recent 10 are able to be made available on the Mixcloud platform.  

To obtain an MP3 download link for any currently unavailable Cloudland Blue Quartet Eclectic Selection, simply e-mail your request to crispycat@hotmail.com.  

Click on the pic to go to Mixcloud...


Tuesday, June 24, 2025

New wisdom and pensioners' lunch ahoy...

Playlist


Up earlier...



Scenes...




...and to work on the next Crazy Wisdom project - a rework of the 1st track on the 2002 EP Malcolm recorded with Charlie Dootson and Gerry Fleming...

Three hours later (with a wee break for breakfast) it was done...

More tweaking and further mixes created before lunch...

We took some stuff over to the the Cats' Protection League shop in Dalry, then doubled back to the Corstorphine Inn for a tasty £8 pensioners' 3 course lunch...

Lentil soup...


Fish'n'Chips...


Jam Roly Poly...


Back home, more work...

By the end of the day, seven (count 'em) mixes done...

Edward Spark will join the project on his return from an upcoming holiday in Cyprus...

This evening, two "Rizzoli & Isles"...

And, also today, two "Code of Silence" with Rose Ayling-Lewis...

All good...

To bed with Brian Eno...

Highlight of the Day : Out for lunch and new music creation...

Today's New Music:

Monday, June 23, 2025

You can call something a bargain, even if you already have every single element of the contents...

Playlist


Up late...



...and more tweaking of the podcast and choosing 25 tracks at random for next week's - in full knowledge that there's very little chance any of them will make it, as places are snapped up by new stuff...

That's the trap I've fallen into...

Out and into town for 11 for a meet at my old office...

Post that, lunch from Sainsbury and a bus along to Dalry, where, in the BHF, three CDs were found for £1 each...

Bus home...


...stopping off in Corstorphine for Belgian Buns...

Down the hill from the terminus and home...


Noted on the way that more stuff has been chucked from the house on the end - no chance the council will take any of this...


In and some TV with the buns...

Then, to listening to the 3 CDs on the new machine...

Mono and stereo versions (butchered US track-list though). Stereo mix much better than mono but, all told, not a great LP really…


The UK version (and “Help”) do scrape into my current Top 20 of 1965 but what was all the fuss about?

 So many better LPs on the list...


Then, a 1970 comp (not released in the UK), under a new deal with Capitol, negotiated by Allen Klein, which called for one Beatles comp per year...

8 of the 10 tracks had only previously been available on singles. It was a stop gap while “Let it Be” was being collated...


And, thirdly, a 20 track 1997 comp from, arguably, Bowie’s finest period...

Includes 3 rarities - the “sax” version of “John I’m Only Dancing”; the Bolan version of “Prettiest Star” and Bowie’s studio version of “All the Young Dudes”, albeit in mono....

This knocks The Beatles into a cocked hat!


Baked potatoes (post Anne's Pilates) for tea and more telly...


Strawberries and banana too...


Mondays eh?

Highlight of the Day : Bargains - even though I have every single song already...

Today's New Music: